Erina Nakiri
Nakiri Erina(薙切 えりな Nakiri Erina) is one of the protagonist (whom is also an antagonistic rival to Yukihira Soma, making her an anti-heroine in the series) in the Shokugeki no Soma manga series. Due to her background as a children of the prestige family of high class Japanese food chain industry, the Tootsuki Corporation, Erina often looks down upon whatever is considered as "common" and unjust to her taste due to her family high pedigree. Having a fearsome reputation for her God's Tongue to taste the food flavor 100% accurate, Erina is able to disqualify anyone whose dish taste "bad" and her foul critic could break the chef (and student alike) soul of tenacity. She is also one of the Elite 10 in Tootsuki Culinary Academy and using her position to judge a student dish based on their family background and status. Appearance Erina has long blonde hair and violet eyes. She also has a slender body figure which is matched to her regal status as one of the top families in culinary ofinationwide of Japan. Personality Born in the prestige and influential family with affluent finances and pedigree, Erina is one of the arrogant, prideful and pampered students in Tootsuki Culinary Academy. Typical wealthy family's princess from her high famed family background, she looks down on people(particularly Soma) or society which doesn't share her lifestyle and only socialize with group of people which have an abundance wealth and strong influences. Having a reputation known as God's Tongue for an ability to taste the food accurately and natural cooking skills, Erina is very serious upon the regal cooking style and classy ingredients, in which can't be tolerated if any failures or distaste within' the food, even the slightest could make a very big deal about it. According to the living legend, Doujima Gin, her tongue was so special that she can taste 8 different salt blindfolded. Due to her reputation, she is both inspired and feared by many newcomers within the academy (except Soma), even the academy lecturers and her senpai found her narcissistic ego was so overwhelming that she is too stubborn to listens to almost anyone. Other than that, Erina is also picky on food to which she rather pick high class cuisine instead of daily dishes, and claimed that normal food doesn't match her taste. Erina is also sadistic to which she often relish on people suffering and reluctance over her offer as her amusement, while she is also narcissistic that only she is better than anyone in the academy(except Soma who found that she is actually dishonest to herself and even claimed her dish boring due to her ego.). Despite all of her narcissistic, arrogant and stubborn mannerism, Erina is also shown to be a tsundere student who denied almost everything even after all there are something good about it, particularly Soma which his food tasted so good that even her god tongue couldn't help but be impressed over his style. Likewise, despite her attempts to remain aloof and regal in her interactions with Soma, she is shown to be easily flustered by Soma's casual and laid back attitude due to her overrated ego and often ends up in comical embarrassment whenever Soma ignores her insults. Some situation said that Erina's imagination played a important yet ridiculous role which depend on her mood, any odd imagination she had would effect the student's result. Erina also not a student who, because of her ego, admit her mistakes and her narcissistic behavior almost made her blinded and even phobia on mistakes(she may be enjoy a sadistic pleasure to yet she is displeased whoever "mock" her).Even there is some slightest critique about her food(Soma is in fact the only student, she a big deal about it and resorted to take drastic measures to cover her weakness. Erina seemly also be a benevolent person who help out her peers whoever on her side(she is still going to make those who against her suffer though, especially Soma who had many times dodged her punishment.). Plot Childhood Born in the prestige Nakiri Family, Erina is gifted to have a "God's Tongue" to taste the food accurately. Even as an infant, she began to talk after she tasted her mother's breast milk, odd enough to shock her parents and she became a child prodigy. Since her talent became well known, most of her baby food were made by the professionals and experts who made deep research to fit young Erina's taste. Under the wing of her grandfather, Erina began to cook and surpassed most of the student even as a child. With the combination of her natural talents and amazing cooking skills, Erina became the youngest Elite 10 member and a proficient figure in the academy history. After her further accomplishments, Erina became a picky student who claims any food that match her regal standards are considered as eatable and live in an extravagant lifestyle, with most of her clients are the best chef cooking the best dish for the high status families, from local royal families to international entrepreneurs around the world. Due to her picky personality, Erina has little friends since she used fear and sadistic punishments as pleasure to see other student suffer in agony(all except Soma who think that Erina is actually normal and boring) and most of the students would follow Erina for 2 reasons;either feared her harsh judgement would shatter his/her pride (which caused betrayal even among their friends) or just simply admire her for the regal family status for the past proud accomplishments. Enrollment Test In the morning, Erina scolded a student harshly in one of her class over the soup due to the soup lacking elegance and grace, remarking that the students' soup is a disgraced over the pride of the chef (is her imagination blinded her judgement) Before she could finish scolding, her secretary arrived on the scene and told her to be a judge for the newcomer's entry test, to which in her dismay Erina reluctantly left the class and became the judge for the entry exam. During her arrival for the qualification exam, almost all the student is greeted upon her name with high anticipation and anxious due to the fact that she will become their judge for the trial exam. Erina also told the freshmen sternly that should the meal failed to appeas her they will face immediate failure for school entry. Feared over the humiliation over the their what-would-become-results, most of the student flee away from her much to her amusement. With that, Erina claimed that the numbers of students whom taking the entry exam would be zero. However, the presence of the curious and confident Soma has finally gave her second thoughts over the test. For his entry test, Erina gave Soma egg as the main theme of the meal in which a confident, despite her insults, Soma made the dish anyways, much to Erina's irritation who think someone like Soma couldn't understand the terms of regal standards. When Erina questioned over Soma's dish, Soma answered her that his dish would be Furikake Gohan which much to her irritation that Soma would make such simple meal to pleased her taste and almost disqualify him. However after Soma told her that he will cooking much modified version of Furikake Gohan, Erina changed her mind and allowed him to proceed to make his dish and cancel the immediate disqualification. While at it, she also continued to observe Soma method to make the ordinary meal special. As she saw the egg dish was "done" in an ordinary fashion, Erina quickly conclude his disqualification after witnessing the dish, only to be halted by Soma that the egg dish was mere a tip of the iceberg as he pour the dish onto the rice. While his meal was finished in just matter of minutes, Erina stared at the dish nervously as Soma asks her if she almost feel regret by almost disqualifying him without making her first taste of the meal, leading to her unlikely embarrassment. Although she tasted the food is as good, her weird imagination and ego overwhelmed her true thoughts about Soma's food that led her unlikely embarrassment. To save her face from humiliation, Erina immediately failed him unusually without explaining him what went wrong with the dish. While returned her mansion, she is still irritated and annoyed over the fact that Soma's food is actually more delicious than she could imagine (probably it is also because of her imagination about Soma's food that caused Soma "supposed" disqualification from the entry exam) and would deny such dish like Soma's would even appease her. Returning in her mansion's bedroom, she also condemned Soma about his humble status could make a magnificent dish is a fluke and reported to her grandfather that the numbers of students for the entry exam would be zero as her final conclusion (that is before her grandfather inspected Soma dish and canceled his disqualification). At the Orientation Day Ceremony, Erina joined as a first year student who made the student inspired and along with the director of the school, Nakiri Senzaemon, became the host over the orientation. Seeing all the students are high in spirits motivated by her grandfather's speech, Erina would think the student's effort would never rival hers and she later remarks that the student's dedication are irrelevant and not even rate. Afterall, with her God's Tongue and her natural cookery skills as her advantage, Erina complemented herself that she would eventually become a Last Student Graduating and became the sole proficient member of her family business. Soon after the speech, Erina heard that someone other than her pass the judgement and she was frustrated to think that Soma would be qualify to the academy. To her suspense however, Erina is surprised to see Soma enter the academy thanks to her grandfather's inspection and cancel his disqualification due to his impression over Soma's Furikake Gohan. Surprised and disbelieved that the fact of Soma passed for his entry and his ambitious speech to become the top, Erina taunted him as his qualification to the academy is a fluke and didn't want to recognize him or his dish as long as he is in the compound of the academy. Before she could leave in anger, Erina further mocked Soma that his dream to be a top was deemed impossible, only to be heard that Soma's serious respond that his long experiences in his family's restaurant during his youth has made him who he is and he promised that he will prove her that his food as the best and make her recognize his food as delicious. Soma's First Shokugeki Main Article: First Shokugeki Arc On the same day after Soma's admission to the Polar Star Hostel, Erina was challenged by the Chan R's president in order to proceed with her Nakiri project in a Shokugeki. The reason for her to purpose her project is to extend her cooking lab which she claims is too small. With little effort, Erina emerged victorious before mercilessly demolish the club, leaving the poor president onto his knees. While she left the arena, Erina heard over her secretary about Soma's amazing results in Chapelle's test over his high score in the class and is extremely both frustrated and angry to know that someone like Soma could pass even the iron heart lecturer such as Chapelle. assuming that Soma is her possible lethal threat of her life, Erina is trying any attempt to force Soma quit schooling in the academy by any means necessary. At one point, Erina allowed an acquaintance from another prestige family, Mito Ikumi whose pride is being the expert in meat culinary, to challenge Soma when she heard the news that Soma had halted her plans of demolition of the Don R's, highly anticipating that Ikumi's success might have that very chance to stop Soma from schooling in this culinary academy permanently. Prior the the Shokugeki between Soma and her champion, Erina became the audience in the duel and her presence was made by both the Shokugeki audience and Ikumi, who highly anticipated Soma's first Shokugeki would be his last and humiliated ones. During the Shokugeki, Erina is confident that Ikumi will defeat Soma in her own field, especially in meat culinary, due to her rigid training from her family for her refine style of cooking the meat culinary. Despite her champion's best effort, Soma's donburi taste is too overwhelming for even the judges admit and declared that Soma is the winner , made the Tootsuki Princess surprised in silence. As the results of Ikumi losing to Soma in her Shokugeki become evident, Erina became disappointed and would cruelly abandon her former ally, while ordered her secretary to take Ikumi's personal elite kitchen away as well, as a severe punishment for losing thus cutting her ties with Ikumi which she see Ikumi is no longer used for her regime. Training Camp Main Article:Training Camp Arc Several days after the Shokugeki between Soma and Ikumi, Erina received a training camp letter from the academy authority and she joined into the boot camp. Since the Tootsuki 10 Alumni became the prime judge for the boot camp, Erina reluctantly joined the camp as she is one of the group of students to perform the trials in the camp and she passed the trials with ease. After her first round and the extra assignment by Sekimori Hitoshi, Erina was humming in joy when she is exits the Tootsuki Resort Bathroom and she accidentally bumped onto Soma while she was on her way back to her room and fell onto the corridor ground. Much to her dismay, she is reunited with her nemesis in the hallway. Even with Soma offer his help, Erina choose to stand up herself instead who still skeptic upon Soma's achievement back from the entry test, high score in Chapelle class and even his first Shokugeki victory. As Erina is concerned that her secrets(her humming of joy after bath) to be heard by someone, Soma did hear her humming thus his comment about their similarity already led to Erina's extreme displeasure, claimed that she is not like Soma who is found the camp flexible. She later remarks that the training camp is nothing more than a boring event which she passed the assignment effortlessly, before she sadistically wonder to see Soma would quit schooling from her academy one day as her pleasure. Despite Erina's threats, her words backfired as Soma did not feel anything from it. Instead Erina was told that she is actually not being honest about herself (especially when she is actually having fun after bath), leading to the Totsuki Princess's unusual embarrassment even further before her secretary finally catched up to her and told Soma to leave her before she changes her mind. While returning to her room with her secretary, Erina was chagrined by Soma's cheeky words in extreme embarrassment and she lost her mood in playing games (which she deemed them as happy-go-lucky). On the third night of the camp, Erina made her presence known to all the remaining students in the Tootsuki Villa Great Banquet Hall while glaring at Soma who she thought he is expelled after overheard the Yukihira-Shinomiya Shokugeki Feud, with Soma's bold challenge to Shinomiya Koujirou, one of the legends, yet she wasn't seemed surprised. As Soma remembered that his first dish involving egg as his entrance exam while he chatted with her, Erina warned him in not to address her in a casual manner while advising Soma for not making any "odd" food to the guest of honor, further denying that Soma's egg dish tasty as Soma recalled that Erina was actually enjoying his dish. When her secretary called her kitchen was ready for training, Erina would wish Soma good luck while bid him farewell, heading to her personal kitchen for her practice. While on her way to her personal kitchen, Erina was confronted a pair of students who is seemly as her long time rivals (before Soma was even in her picture), and later was told by the female rival that her princess days in the academy are numbered before she retaliated that she has no intention take a joke as a serious issue from a mere "common student" before leaving to her personal kitchen for practice(she didn't realize the student's wicked smirk, indicating that she either did something suspicious in her kitchen to humiliate the Totsuki Princess or just merely passing by while addressing her with greeting and warning to her rival since she, like her partner, was not part of the students who is attending in the assembly.). While in her personal kitchen, Erina would going to her bedroom and told her assistant to pick up her rest should she finish her testing, before further telling her in confidence that they are going to be qualified for the Breakfast Buffet Struggle and they will playing the card games and chess as their celebration to her ensured victory. While she was on her way back to her room, Erina would think back about her "humiliation" during Soma's entry exam while she was still skeptic upon Soma's dish and she is going to show Soma that her stylish and regal cooking would be the only thing that the Tootsuki needs (self-proclaimed so she may save her face from another "humiliation".). Cooking Style Despite rarely participating in any Shokugeki, Erina's cooking style is believed to be the finest and most elegant of all. Using all of every stylish style from the wealthy and high pedigree status of culinary, she referred lavish ingredients to make the finest dish of all and suggested that only the high grade dish is considered as eatable for her standards. It is also noted by Doujima himself that her cooking skills cannot be underestimated due to her quick skills and along with her nickname "God's Tongue", managed to create the dish that is matched her taste before complete the dish. Further confirming her talents, Doujima also claimed that her tongue is so special that she can tasted 8 different salt blindfolded and it is also noted that she can cook even faster than Soma, which makes her a proficient rival to Soma's style even when she rarely cooks in front of the public. ''Shokugeki'' Record Official *Erina has an undefeated streak on all of her Shokugeki matches. Trivia *Due to Erina's extreme stern and pampered personality, many students and even her house chefs fears her and only Soma could outwit her and her plans to disqualify him. And Soma is the only rival (even though she admired thoughtfully about Soma dishes) that could matched her unusual taste bud. *The rivalry between both Erina and Soma is similar to Xiang Yu and Liu Bang (More likely due to their background status) during the Chu-Han Contention. *It is also hinted that Erina is much more yuri type(Lesbian in manga anime terminology) student whom viewed men as ugly creatures and irritating vermin, though in the one shot edition of the manga claimed that he did have Julio, the Graceful Hulk among the Elite Council Ten; indicated that she only concerned whoever has the higher rank in the class or the prestige background regardless the gender. *Erina is one of the rival who refused to befriended with Soma, even she did realized that Soma's incredible skills and surprising creativity could intrigued her. While Soma is actually intended to befriend with the Tootsuki Princess, Erina is constantly refused his offer due to her pride and arrogance, since she is also intended to graduate from her "kingdom" so she can inherit over her grandfather role as a director of the academy. Category:Female Characters Category:Student Category:Elite Ten Council Category:Characters Category:Tootsuki Culinary Academy Students Category:Rival